GOVT ATTACKS ‘DISRESPECTFUL’ MEDIA

The Swaziland Government says the two South African e.TV journalists detained by Swazi Police this week were intent on ‘disrespecting’ the kingdom.

Percy Simelane, the official Swazi Government spokesperson, said foreign journalists tended to undermine the sovereignty of Swaziland.

The two journalists were detained at the Swaziland – South Africa border on Wednesday (11 April 2012) when they tried to enter the kingdom to cover the prodemocracy protests that were to be held across Swaziland.

Campaigners want democratic reforms in Swaziland, which is ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Political parties and opposition groups are banned in the kingdom and all broadcast media is censored.

Simelane was speaking on SBIS, the state-controlled radio station. He said, ‘These journalists are on a mission to incriminate the country so that Swaziland is perceived as oppressive in the outside world.’ He added they did not have the government’s permission to report from within Swaziland.

Meanwhile, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Swaziland Chapter, condemned the manner of the journalists’ detention and called on the Swazi government to allow freedom of expression and media freedom.

See also

POLICE RELEASE TV JOURNALISTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/police-release-tv-journalists.html

POLICE RELEASE TV JOURNALISTS

Two South African e-tv television journalists detained by police in Swaziland today (11 April 2102) for covering the protests in the kingdom have been released.

But they have been told they cannot report in Swaziland without the permission of the Swazi Government.

Spokesperson for e-tv, Andy Duffy told journalists, ‘They have been released and their equipment has been returned. They were ordered not to report anything out of Swaziland without a permit.’

He said the two, Tumaole Mohlaodi and cameraman Meshack Dube, would remain in Swaziland pending the outcome of their accreditation application to cover events in Swaziland.

The journalists were stopped at the Oshoek border post between South Africa and Swaziland and escorted to Mbabane, the Swazi capital, where their equipment was confiscated.

The Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC) -- a coalition of organisations inside Swaziland – said, ‘We demand freedom of expression and the right for journalists to freely cover the events in Swaziland, so that the world can know that the myth of a peaceful country, unquestioningly accepting royal autocracy in the name of Swazi culture, is a fallacy and lie.’

See also

TV CREW DETENTION CONFIRMED

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/tv-crew-detention-confirmed.html

TV CREW DETENTION CONFIRMED

The detention of two South African television journalists by Swazi police has been confirmed.

The two were in Swaziland to cover the protests across the kingdom that are starting today (11 April 2012).

This was confirmed by eNews Africa editor Chris Maroleng.

He told media, ‘I can confirm that two of our journalists were detained at a roadblock outside Mbabane shortly after 9am today.

‘What we are aware of is that the two are currently being questioned at a police station in the capital [Mbabane]’

The passports of journalist Tumaole Mohlaoli and cameraman Meshack Dube were confiscated.

‘They have been told that they are not under arrest, they are just being detained,’ Maroleng told reporters.

No reason was given for this.

He said eNews Africa was monitoring the developments.

‘We are committed to media freedom and we hope that the Swazi authorities will respect the basic human rights of our crew, who were deployed on a legitimate story to cover the activities in Swaziland,’ he said.

It was unclear if their equipment was also seized.

See also

TV CREW ‘DETAINED BY SWAZI POLICE’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/tv-crew-detained-by-swazi-police.html

TV CREW ‘DETAINED BY SWAZI POLICE’

The Swaziland Democracy Campaign (SDC) is reporting today (11 April 2012) that journalists working for the South African media house, e-TV were briefly detained at the Oshoek Border post and then escorted to Mbabane, with all their equipment confiscated by the Swazi Police.

The e-TV crew was on its way to report about the marches taking place in Swaziland in commemoration of the 39th anniversary of the 1973 king’s decree that literally enslaved and imprisoned Swazis perpetually, SDC reported.

See also

SWAZI DEMOCRATS LINE UP TO PROTEST

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2012/04/swazi-democrats-line-up-to-protest.html